Inside Track: IRS Reduces 2010 Mileage Rate To 50 Cents

Effective Jan. 1, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service is lowering its standard mileage rate to 50 cents per mile from the 55-cent rate for 2009. IRS's lower standard mileage rate will "reflect generally lower transportation costs compared to a year ago." The rate, calculated by Runzheimer International, is the standard for businesses to calculate the reimbursable cost to travelers who use personal vehicles for business. Of 200 corporate traveler buyers, 74 percent relied on the IRS rate, according to BTN research fielded this year. Still, IRS said, "Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates." BTN's survey showed 9 percent of companies formulate their own fixed rate, while nearly 6 percent use an internally developed fluctuating rate.

DHS Proposes To Make Global Entry Permanent
The U.S. Homeland Security Department last month proposed to make permanent its ongoing Global Entry pilot program, which expedites the customs process for prescreened travelers entering the United States. The proposal is in the midst of a public comment period, ending Jan. 19, 2010. The pilot program, initially launched in June 2008 at three airports, has expanded to include 20 major U.S. entry points, including airports in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which operates the program, said Global Entry is available for a nonrefundable $100 enrollment fee and a background check demonstrating clean criminal, customs and immigration records. Global Entry members can bypass lines for U.S. customs agents and scan passports through automated kiosks that take photos, field declaration questions and match traveler fingerprints to those on file. Travelers must present kiosk receipts to CBP officers to exit customs.

STR: Hotel Recovery To Begin In 2011
The U.S. hotel industry's rates, revenue and occupancy will begin a recovery in 2011, according to a late November forecast issued by Smith Travel Research. The firm said the current construction pipeline should be mostly completed by 2011, with growth for the year projected at 0.8 percent. Demand will grow by 3.2 percent during 2011. This will lead to a 2.4 percent year-over-year increase in occupancy, a 3 percent increase in average daily rate and a 5.5 percent increase in revenue per available room. "For the first time since 2007, occupancy will improve in 2011," Smith Travel Research president Mark Lomanno said in a statement. "With that, finally the industry will have the ability to raise room rates. It won't nearly come close to getting back to 2007 levels but will at least be the beginning stages of improvement." STR expects all three metrics to continue their decline in 2010, however. The forecast calls for occupancy to drop 0.2 percent, average daily rate by 3.4 percent and RevPAR by 3.6 percent from this year's levels.

Rearden Provides Travel Leaders Private-Label Tool
Travel Leaders now is using Rearden Commerce's Personal Assistant online booking platform under its own brand name, making it the first travel management company to fund development for a private-label version of the tool other than American Express Business Travel's Axiom. The agreement also allows the hundreds of Travel Leaders franchises to resell the Compass version of the Personal Assistant. Travel Leaders now also is a reseller of the Rearden-owned ExpenseWire.